One of the four obstacles commonly referred to in the investor community that holds many people back from becoming real estate investors are TENANTS. The other three “T’s” are Toilets, Trash, and Taxes.
Difficult Tenants can be developed by means of a change in circumstances, addiction, mental health or family construct, but most of the time the routines and previous behaviors can be spotted and avoided – if you know what to look for. In property management we define a difficult Tenant
as a person(s) that pays rent late or fails to pay, damages property, violates rules, routine complainer, messy, and fails to communicate. To help avoid these situations to begin with starts with the screening process, however this can be tricky and not always readily apparent that you are stepping into a problem.
To resolve conflicts and maintain a positive relationship with difficult Tenants it is necessary to set expectations (through a lease agreement), have preemptive communication and planning, and follow through. Typically, the difficulty lies in the lack of communication, avoidance, or the Tenant just not knowing how to handle difficult situations. We can help deal with this through proper communication. We can’t help resolve issues without it, which then typically results in legal action.
While handling difficult tenants is challenging, with the right tools, structure, and COMMUNICATION your experience will be more in your control.